Improvement in watches



tuttll States Hi/wt @time Letters Patent No. 95,547, dated October 5, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN` WATCHES.

The Schedule referred to in these Lettera Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GrrAnLns V.- W onen, of Waltham, in the county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented Improvements in \Vatches; and I do her'eby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings, which a/ccorrrpany and form part of this specification, is a description of my invention, sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

In the manufacture of American watches, it is customary to enclose the running-movement between two parallel plates, called pillarplates77 said plates being connected by a series of struts or posts, and being open at' the edge thereof, the whole so-called movement thus made being'enclosed v'in the ont-er case of the watch, the caps-of which cover the two plates, (or the dial and innercap,)wl1ile the frame to which the caps are hinged covers the open edge between the plates. This construction is objectionable, in that dust and dirt, working through the hinges and joints of the case, penetrate between the plates, and injure the working-parts-of the watch. To remedy this,tl'1e two pillar-plates have been surrounded at their edges by a peripheral ring, called a dust-ring, which shuts up the movement, and excludes all entrance of foreign matters, such ring sometimes overlappingl the edges of the plates, and sometimes being confined between them. The employment of this ring, though it answers well itspurpose in excluding dust, is not free from objection, for, besides adding another main piece to. the movement, it requires nice litting and fasten- -ings, and adds to the cost of the movement.

In my invention, which is designed to cheapen and simplify the construction of comrnonovatches, I so construct the frame that directly holds the running-movement as to dispense with this peripheral or dust-ring, and, in fact, with one of the plates; and

My invention consists, primarily, in enclosing the running-movement in a plate. made of sutiicient thicknessto contain the same, the plate having recesses made in it, to receive all the parts known as the mnningmovement;7 (except the hands,) Yand the plate being left solid, 'or without. any opening at the edge thereof, for entrance of dust or dirt,

In connection with my invention, I make the pivotbridges without shoulders or bases forming parts thereof. These bridges are usually supported upon, and screwed directly to the front plate; and, as each bridge-bearing is in the plane of the back plate, the brid fe has necessarily to be made either with a bend, or w th its fastened end ofa thickness sufficient to forma base reaching to the bottom plate. But, in my improvement, I makeA the bridge of a plate of even thickness throughout, and leave the pillar-plate of normal thickness at all those points where the bridges arc to be secured. These bridges, being screwed to their surmorting-platc, are. generally kept in permanent position, or irom swinging or lateral movement, by means of steady-pins, each bridge having such a pin set into a hole bored through the bridge-plate. 'lo dispense with such pin set into the bridge, I raise, upon the inner surface ofthe bridge, a small spur, (with a snitable hollow punch or die,) the metal displaced in striking the punch into the bridge being forced up within the punch above the surface of the bridge, and this constitutes another part of r'ny inventimr.

.lhese bridges or bridge-plates are generally chased or engraved on their outer' surfaces; and, as this engraving is expensive, I configurate the outer surface of each bridge in a die, one surface of which has the. desired figure in reliefl or intaglio, so that by striking the plate in the die, the figure shall be formed on its surface, thus dispensing with the engraving-process, this ti'gure being preferably impressed bythe same die that forms the proiecting spur on the opposite surface of the bridge.

In all watches, so far as l know, the ratchet which holds the rnain-spring in winding is set on the outer end of the barrel-that is to say, on the end which is exposed in opening the back of the watch; and, for want of available space at this point, the ratchet has tobe made. very small in diameter; and the leverage' upon the teeth is such that they soon strip, orare 'worn away, this being, in fact, the point in watches at to be highly finished, and nach hns to be kept in place by a screw.

To remedy these objections, I place the. ratchet at the inner' end ofthe barrel, where it and the click and spring are concealed from view, and where there is sufficient space to enlarge the ratchet-wheel, dropping it into a recess formed in thc plate beyond the barrel; and in this sanrc recess we place the pawl and the spring, the pa-wl having a circular head, which drops into a circular side recess opening out ofthe main recess, the side recess forming a bearing, in which the click swings, and also detaining it in position, so that it needs no fastening-screw, while the 'spring bears against and is held by the boundary wall ofthe recess, it being kept from dropping ont by making the wall slightly under-cut7 so that the spring presses under the edge. These details oi' construction constitute the other' faatures of this invention.

The drawings represent part ofa watch embodying my improvements.

A shows a pla-n of the same.

B is a section on the line az.

l) shows one of the pivot-bridges enlarged.

D, an edge view thereof.

E, a section of the same on the line y y.

tion, instead of by the slow and expensive use of a F is a view of the inner end ofthe barrel enlarged.

G is an edge view of the same.

a denotes the mainplate for holding the runningmovement, by the construction oi' which .plate the ordinary back plate is dispensed with, the plate a being made of a thickness equal to the space between and including the ordinary front and back plate, and being recessed from one side, as seen at B and at E, (which shows the open side of the plate,) these recesses being so made as to contain the running-movement, and leaving a wall, b, entirely around the edge of the plate, as seen at B and F.

c denotes the pivot-bridges'. Each of these bridges as seen (enlarged) at O, D, and E, is formed of a plate of uniform thickness throughout, each being supported directly upon and screwed to the plate a, which is left of normal thickness, or Without being recessed at each point where the bridge is to be secured.

d! denotes the steady-pin, 'projecting from the inner facey of the bridge, and extending into a hole made in the plate, (when the bridge is applied to the plate,) to keep the bridge from any lateral movement. This pin (as seen at E) is not driven into the plate, but is made therefrom, by means of a hollow punch or die, the metal displaced by which, as seen at E, is forced up above the plate, so as to form the projecting steadypin or point. Each bridge has its outer surface configurated (as seen at A) by a suitable die, upon the surface of which the figure is formed,as before 'described, thus making the figure at one blow or 'operaf graver or chasing-tool. e denotes the barrel. j; the barrel-wheel. g, the ratchet.

h, the click or pawl. (i, the click-spring. The barrel sets in a recess, k, and the ratchet is placed on the barrel-shaft, at the inner end of the barrel, as seen at G, while the head of the pawl, which is made circular, is 'dropped into a side recess, Z, (so that .the pawl may turn, but cannot slip ont,) and the spiiug is sprung into a recess, m, against the wall of which its stress holds it, the wall being under-cut, to retain the spring, as seen at B, requiring uo screw to retain either the pawl or the spring.

These improvements tend not only greatly to simplify and cheapen low-cost watches, but also to render them more enduring, and less liable to get out of order, there being not many, if any, more than half` the number of pieces in one of these improved watches that exist in the cheapest watches now made.

I claim- 1. A Watch-plate or movement-frame made of a single solid plate, recessed, to contain the running-mechanism, and having a wall formed from such plate, and surrounding such mechanism, substantially as described. y

2. Also, a pivot-bridge having a steady-pin struck up from itsunder surface, substantially as described.

3. Also, the described arrangement of the barrel, ratchet-pawl or click, and click-spring, all within the same cavity in the bed-plate, the click and spring lying in recesses in the bottom of the cavity, and the barrel covering them, substantially .as set forth.

OHAS. V. WOERD.

Witnesses z J. B. CROSBY, FRANCIS GoUuD. 

